


This Unwanted Nostalgia for the Forgotten

by Perseia



Category: The Originals (TV)
Genre: Angst, Elijah's life in Manosque, Memory Loss, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post Season 4 Finale, Season Finale, always and forever, happy elijah, nostalgic elijah, pianist elijah
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-18 11:15:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11289600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perseia/pseuds/Perseia
Summary: Eli lives in Manosque, France, as a pianist. He doesn't remember a lot about his past, but he knows he asked for his memories to be erased by an odd pair of witch and vampire in NOLA.He doesn't know much about himself but he isn't keen on rediscovering it. The last few years have been good.That is, until a blond stranger tips him and disappears.





	This Unwanted Nostalgia for the Forgotten

**Author's Note:**

> You may have guessed by this point that Elijah's one of my absolute favorites. So I decided to just write about him and explore his life as a non-mikaelson. Not 100% sure where this is going to be headed, so let's see where this goes.

It’s been a few years since he met the strange witch and the vampire in New Orleans. They tell him he hired them to block some of his painful memories through compulsion. 

Apparently he had a great personal tragedy that he never explained to them properly that involves very old relations, leaving him to forget much about himself. He believes them because he did feel inexplicably light at that moment. He knows he shed some big emotional luggage there.

Now, he has snapshots of memories along with a wealth of mostly useless knowledge about histories and academic fields. 

There’s definitely much he doesn’t know about himself. He knows he loves music, knows what he likes(fine bourbon, well tailored clothing) and dislikes(he hates ill mannered people or ignorant idiots), but it’s the memories he’s missing. There are habits that he think spawns from something, but when he reaches back he comes up blank. He knows he brought it upon himself, but it is disconcerting at times. And then there are small things like his accent and his knowledge of languages and foreign customs that he does not know how he has them. 

Of course, he knows he’s been alive for a long time. He can feel the power within himself, and the self control when it comes to blood. But he must have been a recluse because he does not know many people. He has no sire-lines as far as he can tell and hardly any supernatural acquaintances. No one knows who Elijah Mikel is. Whatever grievances he went through, it must have either been the wipeout of all his friends or a great betrayal from the “old relations”.

But whatever happened to him, he is content here. He built his life here in Manosque, France, and he enjoys the people, the culture, and the history here. He’s even somewhat a local celebrity as he’s the resident pianist of the town’s modest but popular bar. They tell him he’s gifted and he accepts the praises graciously because he truly loves the piano, though he thinks his skills are likely because of the muscle memories from years of living and practicing. 

 

***

He steps into the bar when it’s still half empty as he always does. He greets some familiar faces and nods a hello at Robin - the owner - who smiles back at him. 

He takes the wine glass from the bar to use as a tip jar and sets it on the piano. He starts playing some slow songs to warm himself up, and there’s something stirring inside him the more he plays. People start filling in the bar and it’s a good mix of tourists and locals as always. He always liked the familiar yet pleasantly excited atmosphere and he’s enjoying himself. He feels relaxed, but that odd feeling of a void within him strikes him quietly.  
Something compels him to look back and he slows his tempo to glance back. Behind him is a lithe blonde man who tipped him just now. The man looks at him oddly, imploring him for some reaction - what he wants, he does not know. Puzzled, he nods at the man and returns to his music. He seemed familiar but he couldn't place how. When he looks back again the man is gone but the feeling of emptiness dissipates, and the man is pushed out of his memories. 

He enjoys the rest of his Thursday night playing request songs and drinking some bourbon that the flirty tourist girls bought for him. He amuses them with his charm just to indulge them and goes home pleased with his tips - he doesn’t need the money but they’re proof that people enjoyed his show.

It’s only in his sleep that the handsome blond face from the night floats back into his mind, but it’s gone again when he wakes up at dawn with an unexplainable sense of nostalgia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope the small name change doesn't annoy you. I don't like changing his name but I thought him keeping his old name defeats the purpose of washing his memories. The name Elijah Mikaelson is so easily recognizable in the supernatural world, but some old vampire with the name Elijah Mikel who goes by Eli would not be considered as an Original.


End file.
